


Date Night

by VoidofRoses



Series: Recovery [6]
Category: Legend of the Three Caballeros (Cartoon)
Genre: M/M, Selene is the goddess Donald prays to because his sister is dating her t b h, date night for Panch and Don, the girls set them up without knowing Daisy was gonna be in the same place I promise
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-06
Updated: 2018-09-06
Packaged: 2019-07-07 16:27:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15911985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VoidofRoses/pseuds/VoidofRoses
Summary: “Heh. Okay, cool.” Panchito gave him a smile that made Donald’s chest clench, a hand reaching out of his pocket to tug gently at the duck’s wrist to lead him down the steps. “Kinda like a date.”





	Date Night

**Author's Note:**

> I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t like the way Daisy treated Donald in Lot3C, nor do I like the way she was written, so I sort of want this to make up for that in the show (I don’t blame my boy Dapper one bit for being the jealousy bait). Enjoy :)

_Leave it to us_ , the girls had said. _It’ll be fun_ , they said.

After the last disastrous date that the triplets had set him up on, Donald had his reservations. Still, Panchito was not Daisy, not by a long shot, so perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad. With an encouraging nod from José and an enthusiastic thumbs up from Xandra, the two of them were shoved unceremoniously out the door of New Quackmore Institute before it shut on them with a slight bang, making them jump.

Panchito tilted his head, looking a little puzzled as he turned his head to look at Donald. “What was that about?” He was dressed warmly for the night, a scarf around his neck and hands finding the pockets of his pants as they turned to look out at the courtyard. “When the girls said we were going out to eat, I thought they meant everyone.”

_Oh sweet Selene_. Donald rubbed the bridge of his beak, a light blush dusting his cheeks. Had they really left it up to him to explain? His gloved hands hid his sweaty palms, though he still felt them, rubbing his hands against his hips. “It’s…well, it’s just us tonight. I think José and Xandra said something about going over a lesson plan for me tomorrow.”

He was slowly getting the hang of his magic, at least a little bit. He didn’t accidentally cause anything to move or suddenly blast something when he was annoyed anymore at least. All the anger that had been in him before the pampering at Shangri-La was gone, and anything that had remained Felldrake had stomped out. Being angry was, frankly, exhausting.

“Heh. Okay, cool.” Panchito gave him a smile that made Donald’s chest clench, a hand reaching out of his pocket to tug gently at the duck’s wrist to lead him down the steps. “Kinda like a date.”

_Oh you sweet naïve fool_ , came a sneering voice in Donald’s head that sounded vaguely like the sorcerer, and he shook it off before it could say anything else. Definitely like a date. _Absolutely_ like a date. But he didn’t say that, instead just shrugging. “I guess.”

The New Quackmore square was quiet aside from the occasional person here and there, but that made him relax better, reaching with a hand to do up a couple of buttons on his flannel. The less people around, the better. After the debacle at the mall when the girls took him shopping, his tolerance for people outside the Caballeros and their companions had dissipated. Panchito’s hand dropped from his wrist after a while, sliding back into his pants as they walked, now a few blocks away from the Institute and in downtown Quackmore.

They got a few stares as they went by, but nothing too harmful. Had this been downtown Duckburg, Donald could have almost guaranteed a run in with the Beagle Boys by now, or maybe one of the other gang of thugs that haunted and skulked around Duckburg, but given that Quackmore was the more “uppercrust” type of area, it wasn’t expected.

At some point during the walk to their reservation, though, Donald found his hand had wound itself around the curve of Panchito’s elbow, subconsciously aware of himself and the whispers that were being garnered towards him. People recognised his face from the news coverage of Felldrake’s take over of Quackmore, and he ducked his head, chin against his chest as shame crept upon him like a spider on his back.

“We can go if you want.” The murmur made him glance out the corner of his eye at the rooster, who had slipped his arm out from Donald’s hold and had now wrapped it around his shoulders. Donald glanced up, then followed the line of his hard gaze to a couple whispering behind their hands. They seemed to realise they’d been discovered, and scurried along like frightened mice. “You don’t have to put up with this.”

Sweet, selfless Panchito. Donald seriously considered it, his fingers picking at a stray thread on his gloves before he shook his head. “I’ll need to leave the Institute sometime or other,” he said, pursing his beak. “I can’t be scared of people all the time.”

A glance at the other Caballero let him see Panchito smile down at him, squeezing his arm around his shoulder. “You’re more courageous than you think, Donald, but we can leave whenever you want. Remember that, okay, _mi amigo_?”

“Yeah. Yeah, okay.” Swallowing down the anxiety starting to stir, Donald took the next step, feeling Panchito’s hand squeeze around his shoulder as he stepped out from underneath his arm, huffing and adjusting his blue flannel, sleeves rolling up. He turned to look at his date, a little uncertain despite his bravado, hesitating before he spoke. “You’ll…be with me, right?”

Panchito nodded, and the two of them started walking again, down the street and away from prying eyes and whispered secrets. Donald relaxed once there was fewer people around, pulling out his phone to look at the message that April had left him with directions to their destination, looking up ahead of them. It was no fancy Chez Quackmore, thank Selene, but instead an Italian restaurant. Not quite upmarket but not quite the downmarket joints that the Caballeros regularly enjoyed.

“Well, I guess it’s better than ordering pizza again.” Panchito looked at him with a slightly guilty expression at the comment, raising his hands. “Hey, it wasn’t my fault the girls summoned me with a slice of pizza when we were in the underworld. I would’ve finished it if Xandra hadn’t called us away.”

Donald couldn’t help but chuckle a bit, and the two of them entered the premises. There was no wary looks, no distrusting gazes or other kinds of glances at them. The restaurant was only inhabited by five tables, one of them preoccupied with a birthday party, two others by what appeared to be a young family and an older couple. A swan stepped into their view, towel draped over her arm and apron around her waist, giving them a smile. “Table for two?”

“We have a reservation,” Panchito responded, and she took out her notepad, flipping to the front.

“Duck or Gonzalez?”

Donald’s blood ran cold. _That could be anyone’s last name_ , he argued with himself, fighting down the familiar rumble of anxiety in his gut. _It can’t be her_.

“Gonzalez I guess.” The rooster turned his head to look at Donald, shrugging. “The girls didn’t tell us who it was under, did they?”

“N-not that I can think of.” A hand reached out to give his a squeeze, Panchito running his thumb around on the duck’s palm as if he sensed Donald’s heightening anxiety. The swan nodded and gestured for them to follow her, leading them over to a quiet corner near the fireplace and placing a menu down in both of their places.

“Can I get you anything to start with? Garlic bread? Water? Some house wine?”

“Some mozzarella sticks maybe, _señorita_?” Panchito looked at his friend as Donald tugged his gloves off his hands, fingering the menu. “You want anything, Donald?”

He looked up from where he was staring vacantly at the menu, glancing at the rooster before turning his head to look at their waitress. “Uh, I’ll have some mozzarella sticks too I guess. And a water.”

“I’ll have those out to you in a minute. You boys take a look at our menu and get settled in.”

The swan walked away, clipboard under her arm and called out to the kitchens as she opened the door, poking her head through. Panchito watched her or a moment before turning his attention back to his date, frowning a bit. “Is there something wrong, Donald?”

He must have been drumming his fingers against the table with a bit more force than he thought he was, pausing before he shook his head. “No. No, there’s nothing wrong.”

“Then why do you look like you want to bolt?”

He had him there. Donald inhaled sharply before exhaling it out, shoulders sagging and returning his gaze to the menu. “I’m probably just paranoid.” He scoffed, mostly at himself. “Like Daisy would ever be in a restaurant like this.”

Panchito frowned, tilting his head. “What makes you think that was her name down there?” He gestured around them, more to the outside world than anything. “There’s probably a billion Ducks in the township of Quackmore alone, the chances of us running into her here are slim to none.” Reaching across, he took hold of Donald’s hand, giving it a squeeze. “Besides, even if it is her…”

“…We can leave,” the duck responded, returning the squeeze and giving him a grateful smile, ducking his head. “Thanks.”

Their mozzarella sticks, dipping sauces and water came, and the waitress took their order – a single pizza between them, which was probably for the best. They engaged in small talk, chatting about telenovelas and Donald’s magic lessons, and Donald began relaxing the more time went on. None of the other patrons even glanced their way, too engrossed in their own conversations to bother them, and as he sipped his water, he started feeling better about himself.

Too bad that wasn’t going to last.

The moment he heard her voice, Donald’s spine tingled cold, fingers breaking the pizza crust in his hand as his shoulders hunched, head lowering. Daisy was the one person he hadn’t seen since Felldrake had scared her off, and he’d long dreaded the idea of seeing her again. A nudge under the table made him look at Panchito, the rooster giving him a small, comforting smile and a tilt of his head, gesturing to the door. He nodded, and Panchito pulled his wallet out from his jacket to place necessary bills on the table, the two of them getting up to leave.

“…Donald?”

The normally catty voice of his ex made him cringe, turning his head to look at her. She was with that duck she came to the cabana with before in an attempt to make him jealous, D something or other. He didn’t remember the name. The noises of tinkering cutlery in the restaurant quieted, people obviously listening in, wanting to see what was going on but without causing a disturbance to it. Donald turned, fingers subconsciously reaching to grasp Panchito’s hand as he looked at Daisy, who looked back, appearing to be just as unsure as he was.

“Uh…Daisy, I…”

Her date nudged her encouragingly when it seemed like she was going to wait for him to apologise, causing Daisy to glance down and raise her hands. “No. I’m the one who should be sorry.” She closed the distance between them, Panchito looking like he was ready to step between them if need be. “Dapper made me realise I demanded too much of you, and I pushed you when I shouldn’t have. You were right when you called me a harpy and accused me of coming back to you for your money. It’s not much but…I wanted to apologise for everything.”

Donald frowned a little, looking at the dashing duck near her who inclined his head to him in a nod. He raised his free hand to scratch the back of his neck, squeezing Panchito’s in his other for comfort and feeling a squeeze back. “I’m still sorry for what I said,” he said at last, deciding that, in a way, Felldrake had been speaking something that had been deep in his heart for a long time.

Daisy gave him a small smile and took his hand from behind his head, giving it a squeeze. “Oh Donald. We just never were good for each other.” She tilted her head to kiss him on the cheek, pulling back as the noise of the restaurant returned to normal, looking at the both of them. “Are you here on a date?” Donald flushed while Panchito nodded in confirmation, taking the moment to thread their fingers. Daisy stepped back next to Dapper, taking hold of his arm. “Why don’t you join us?”

“Uh, sorry, we were just leaving,” the rooster said so that Donald wouldn’t have to, waving his free hand towards the door. “Next time, maybe?”

“It’ll be a date,” she replied, giving him a soft smile and a look that asked him to take care of her ex boyfriend. Panchito nodded, wrapping his arm around Donald’s shoulders and leading him out the door of the establishment and away from prying eyes. Once on the street, the duck’s shoulders sagged, wrapping his arms around himself and clutching at both sides of his flannel jacket as his fellow Caballero began leading him home.

“Well, that went better than expected,” Panchito said, breaking the silence as they got further up the street. Donald glanced away, and the rooster hummed, closing his eyes as they walked. “It’s okay for you to miss her, y’know. She…you two were close for a long time.”

“That doesn’t mean that it doesn’t hurt.” Donald’s voice was quiet, fingers deep in the pits of his clothes. “But…Felldrake was right, and so’s Daisy. We weren’t good for each other, brought out the worst of us together.” He paused. “I hope he’s good to her.”

“I know.”

They walked in silence back to the Institute, hands entwined and fingers linked, stars twinkling down and the moon lighting their path when the lights of the inner city faded away. The longer they walked, the more Donald felt the weight of what happened between him and Daisy slide off his shoulders, each step lighter. When they got to the fountain, Panchito turned to look at him, giving him a smile and his hand a squeeze.

“I enjoyed tonight.”

Donald felt his face flush fully, fingers brushing through the feathers at the back of his neck. “So did I,” he admitted, even if it felt like he had worried about other people’s opinions most of the night.

Panchito paused, scratching his cheek. “Y’know, there’s a Mexican comedy coming out at the theatre. If you wanna check it out I mean.”

“Panchito Romero Miguel Junipero Francisco Quintero Gonzalez, are you asking me out again?”

“Mayyyyybe.”

The duck sighed and shook his head, smiling softly before tilting his head to kiss his companion on the cheek. “I’d love to.”

The two Caballeros turned and walked into the Institute, unaware of the jovial high fiving happening between their third, the girls and the goddess upstairs.


End file.
